What car should I get?

  • Thread starter Thread starter alexlam24
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alexlam24
Well I could, but I can't afford it anyways. I'm turning 16 in 4 days so yay for me. Not so good for those that can't drive as they will be followed by a very angry Chinese guy cursing them out
Ooh and one question, should I buy a car from craigslist or from Ebay? which do you think is better?
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Just...:scared:...for the first part. Knowing you, you'd probably do that.
Go with Craigslist; it's simpler, and you can just call the guy up and see the car. With Ebay, you have to deal with bidding and whatnot, and that can get expensive.
 
Doog
Just...:scared:...for the first part. Knowing you, you'd probably do that.
Go with Craigslist; it's simpler, and you can just call the guy up and see the car. With Ebay, you have to deal with bidding and whatnot, and that can get expensive.
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This is probably the only time in my life I will say this to you
Thanks doog
 
Since it's your first car and you're still learning how to drive, I present a car that is not very exciting, but is reliable and safe:

1996-2007 Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable-

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03-sable-1.jpg


The trouble spot on these cars is the factory coolant recovery tank which develops cracks after a while. OEM replacements run about $60.
 
RVDNuT374
Since it's your first car and you're still learning how to drive, I present a car that is not very exciting, but is reliable and safe:

1996-2007 Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable-

The trouble spot on these cars is the factory coolant recovery tank which develops cracks after a while. OEM replacements run about $60.
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Problem with that is, I will never ever drive American. After my experience with my moms rental Chrysler 200 and Chevrolet Malibu, I will never drive American again
 
^ That's a good idea. But if you wanna go the same way I'm going maybe look into an 82-86 Toyota Supra. It would probably be easier to look for something else though. It's very hard to find some in even decent shape, and if they're nice they usually want a hefty sum of money for it... The other problem with a Supra is the insurance but to me it seems you haven't really factored that into what your searching for. Simply because it's a sports car (with all of it's 160 HP) it's very high on insurance for new drivers. :rolleyes: I couldn't even begin to imagine the annual insurance cost of a Miata or other two seater for a new driver.
 
I found a fd going for 8 thousand, but rotary engines are as fuel efficient as a lion meat powered WW2 bomber
 
alexlam24
Problem with that is, I will never ever drive American. After my experience with my moms rental Chrysler 200 and Chevrolet Malibu, I will never drive American again
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What a great assumption about all American cars. :dunce:
Don't be so quick to rule everything American out. Pretty much any new Ford is great, and if you can find one, a Ford Focus SVT would be a wicked first car.
 
Doog
What a great assumption about all American cars. :dunce:
Don't be so quick to rule everything American out. Pretty much any new Ford is great, and if you can find one, a Ford Focus SVT would be a wicked first car.
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Or I could get a 2007 acura tl type s for $8k. Found one on craigslist today
 
alexlam24
Or I could get a 2007 acura tl type s for $8k. Found one on craigslist today
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Any Honda that's that new for that little has been in a wreck and has a salvage title. You have to pay for salvaged cars in cash, you can't get a loan for them. And they're just plain hard to resell.
 
Buy a whatever car. Something cheap, not too embarassing, and OK reliability. Everybody beats up their first car one way or another, and after driving for a year or so you'll probably have a better idea of what kind of car you want and what will be practical for you.

E30 BMWs are cheap and can be a cool car, but you have to be careful or you'll end up with a money pit. (Like mine...)

I wouldn't even think of buying an FD. Trust me, you can't afford to maintain the thing, and you have to be really careful about how you drive them if you want the engine to last, which can be a real pain. (Like having to let the engine heat up for 5 or 10 minutes before you drive anywhere, and cool down at the end, etc.)
 
RVDNuT374
1996-2007 Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable-

The trouble spot on these cars is the factory coolant recovery tank which develops cracks after a while. OEM replacements run about $60.
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Don't forget that 95% have no rear struts left in them, and replacement is costly, since they're an utter nuisance to replace.

Also, don't try to replace the spark plugs, let Ford do it. Some of the engines (Triton or Vulcan, can't remember which) have some deeply recessed spark plugs, for which it's possible to jam the plug threads deep into the head, without the proper tools.

(12k x posts)
 
alexlam24
Problem with that is, I will never ever drive American. After my experience with my moms rental Chrysler 200 and Chevrolet Malibu, I will never drive American again
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:lol: Your opinion on domestic cars was based off of two rental cars? You do know rental cars are awful no matter what company made them, right?

You're 16, owning anything sporty, fast, or cool pretty much means you'll be paying some stupid amount of money for insurance. Then when you wreck it, because you will wreck you first car in some way, you'll be disappointed and your insurance will go even higher.

Seriously buy a Neon, you can even get a Sport or an R/T and they are plenty of fun to drive. They are also dirt cheap to insure, I think I pay $400 a year on mine, and any part you could need to fix the thing will be a local junkyard for very cheap. You don't need any more than that for your first car. And if you want to feel a bit sportier than just buy a 5-speed version of the car.

Get an RX-7, BMW, etc. for your second car when you're 18-19. You need to actually learn how to drive first before jumping into something sporty.
 
Actually, the Malibu isn't that bad a rental...better than a 200/Sebring, and far better than an Impala. But it's somewhat of an average car, although fairly composed at highway speeds.
 
Doog
Any Honda that's that new for that little has been in a wreck and has a salvage title. You have to pay for salvaged cars in cash, you can't get a loan for them. And they're just plain hard to resell.
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it has a clean record though
 
alexlam24
it has a clean record though
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Sure it does.
That's what the advertisement for an '05 Avalon said. My mom, my aunt, and I went to look at it, and the little Asian woman tells us that there was a fire inside it and it has a salvage title. :dunce:
Get the carfax on that baby.
 
Doog
Sure it does.
That's what the advertisement for an '05 Avalon said. My mom, my aunt, and I went to look at it, and the little Asian woman tells us that there was a fire inside it and it has a salvage title. :dunce:
Get the carfax on that baby.
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It has a clean Carfax, well that's what it said,
 
Whaddaya mean $8k? It's going for $9750. Besides that, it has one picture. One. Ask for more photos from the guy.
 
Doog
Whaddaya mean $8k? It's going for $9750. Besides that, it has one picture. One. Ask for more photos from the guy.
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Otay
 
And what's the mileage on the odometer? Kind of odd to leave that out (after year, make, and model, that number's right up there).
 
Pupik
And what's the mileage on the odometer? Kind of odd to leave that out (after year, make, and model, that number's right up there).
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Ooh well I'll just look at another car,I still have a whole year
 
Get a Camry 2.2L. Seriously. Cheap, Reliable, Looks decent, comfortable, cheap insurance. And, if you know how to drive it well, you can outrun any other car on the road.
 
NissanSkylineN1
Get a Camry 2.2L. Seriously. Cheap, Reliable, Looks decent, comfortable, cheap insurance. And, if you know how to drive it well, you can outrun any other car on the road.
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I'm either buying euro or Japanese. Found a used 02 Audi a4 a couple weeks ago. I reckon next year I could get a 06 model for the same price
 
A Camry is Japanese :odd:
 
Joey D
A Camry is Japanese :odd:
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That's what I was saying. Japanese or euro is all I'm choosing
marluxiaXI11
You could always try a Saab.
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Then I'm an architect on top gear?
 
alexlam24
Do you think getting a 90s Miata would be a good choice? Fuel efficient, fun and reliable. Stick shift ftw
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Definitely. The answer is always Miata, they say.
Also, why not Mini? I can certainly vouch for those; they're a blast to drive, and the precision is just fantastic. There's so much control. If you wait a year, you may find some older Coopers for your price range, and most used Coopers seem to be stick shift as well. A Cooper S will be out of the price range, though.
But that Miata seems like a really good catch. See what you can do about it.
 
Doog
Definitely. The answer is always Miata, they say.
Also, why not Mini? I can certainly vouch for those; they're a blast to drive, and the precision is just fantastic. There's so much control. If you wait a year, you may find some older Coopers for your price range, and most used Coopers seem to be stick shift as well. A Cooper S will be out of the price range, though.
But that Miata seems like a really good catch. See what you can do about it.
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If the Miata ever breaks down I'll just tweet kaz. He knows quite a lot about miatas. Might look at a mini too. Thanks Doog
 
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